Was the MeToo movement in 2018 a watershed moment in the Indian film industry? Some would think so. But Huma Qureshi says at best, it was a wake-up call for the industry. In a no-holds-barred chat, the actor questions the practice of victim-shaming in sexual harassment cases and highlights the need to fight systemic silence. In the latest episode of mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist, Huma Qureshi spoke up about the consequences of the MeToo movement in the industry.
Huma Qureshi opens up about the MeToo movement
When asked about that, she thought about the entire movement. She firmly replied, “Much needed.” The actress then added, “These are things that often were spoken about, like hush tones and whispers, often laughed about also, often normalised also. So I think it is much needed. I think it gave a few people a bit of a wake-up call and got them to do things a bit more covertly and not so overtly. But I still do think that it`s not really made a real dent. I feel like till the time we don`t stop branding the women who come out and speak about it in popular media, it`s not going to be okay.”
Huma emphasises the existence of victim-shaming, which discourages women from opening up. She says, “I still feel there is so much victim shaming and branding that happens. But a lot of women don`t come forward and talk about it, thinking, `I don`t want to be that girl who sort of called that guy out.` Because it`s always the women who carry the shame, and that`s really unfortunate. I feel all of us are responsible, and all of us need to stop doing that. Which is why a lot more people don`t come out and don`t speak about it. That`s really on us as society, as a business, as an industry. And the reverse is never true. The so-called perpetrators were never shamed, or aren`t shamed enough. It`s time to set better systems in place.”
Sharing an incident, she shares, “I do know on a set that I was working on. And it happens in every department. There was a girl who worked in the makeup department. Because she was not too friendly to the HOD of that department, she was asked to go back from an outdoor shoot. So when I got to know, I, of course, escalated it to the EP, saying, `Hey, I got to know about this. And I don`t think that`s cool. Because what does that even mean? You are not friendly enough, you don`t come and hang out at after parties, you don`t go out drinking or whatever. I think that`s harassment. It`s still not cool. And of course, when the girl was contacted, he didn`t want to make a fuss about it. I don`t want to be that girl. There is that systemic silence. It is also a strange world, because you are also dealing with emotions.”
Huma Qureshi says she wouldn`t speak up publicly
Elaborating further, she surprisingly shared that she, too, wouldn`t speak up publicly if she faced something similar. She revealed, “I will tell you very honestly, and I am going to say this, that if somebody were to trouble me, I would take it out on that person, on a one-to-one level, I will make sure I tell all my friends about it. I will make sure I shame that person in my circle anyway. I will make sure that if somebody asks me, I will 100 per cent say this.”
She added, “But if somebody is going to ask me like this on camera, I will probably not talk about it, because then the focus will shift from your work to me being the poster child for abuse. And I don`t want to do that. Even today, it will be on you instead of the person.”